Endoscopic surgery usually involves accessing a surgical site through a small incision in the patient's body or a natural body orifice. One goal of endoscopic surgery is to reduce tissue trauma and the body's response to injuries associated with traditional “open” surgery. Examples of some common endoscopic procedures include laparoscopic cholecystectomies (i.e., gall bladder removal) and appendectomies; arthroscopic surgery of the interior of bone joints; endoscopic rhinosinusitis; colonoscopic excisions; endoscopic discectomy; etc. In addition to medical applications, endoscopic systems may be used for visualization and manipulation of complex technical systems, improvised explosive devices, architectural scale models, and other non-medical applications.
Conventional endoscopes are often configured to deliver optical devices and surgical instruments to a surgical site. Such optical devices usually include two fiber optic lines for imaging the site. A “light fiber” carries light to the site, while an “image fiber” carries an image of the site back to the endoscope's operator.
Conventional endoscopes typically include a working channel for introducing surgical instruments to a target surgical site. These instruments can have end-effectors, such as forceps, scissors, brushes, etc. for tissue excision, sampling, or other diagnostic and surgical work. Some endoscopes can also include a separate axial port or channel for administration of drugs, suction, or irrigation.
The growing capabilities of endoscopes have allowed operators to perform an increasing variety of surgeries and diagnostic and/or therapeutic procedures. Further refinement of endoscopic devices may enable operators to less invasively perform complicated procedures, thereby reducing post-operative pain, scar tissue formation, or recovery time. Reducing the size of endoscopic equipment also would allow greater access to target sites within body regions that are currently difficult to treat with conventional endoscopic systems.
Conventionally multiple instruments for endoscopic procedures are delivered to the target site through separate working channels of a single endoscope. These separate working channels running the full length of the endoscope maintain the positions of the instruments relative to one another, relative to optics, and relative to the body of the endoscope. For example, a grasper inserted through a left-side channel of a conventional endoscope will be located to the left of a grasper inserted through a separate right-side channel throughout the length of the endoscope.
Conventional endoscopes having two or more working channels can be large and unsuitable for some endoscopic procedures. The elimination of separate working channels within at least part of an endoscope could reduce the diameter of at least part of the endoscope. Additionally, the ability to deliver multiple instruments through a single lumen increases the number of instruments available at the surgical site. Delivering multiple instruments simultaneously may facilitate more complex endoscopic surgeries.
The present disclosure describes devices and methods for delivering multiple instruments to a surgical site.